While Cars are Safer Than Ever, Be Careful This Summer

According to a recent report by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), cars are safer than ever before. Unfortunately, the report has some bad news as well. The risk of dying in a late-model vehicle has increased slightly, due to the improving economy. How does the economy fit in? An improving economy puts more people on the road, and in more dangerous ways.

But on the positive side, the report singled out 11 cars and trucks in which no occupant had died – the highest number of vehicles ever. Based upon federal government data on auto fatalities from 2012 and 2015, here are the Safe 11:

Zero Driver Fatalities (in alphabetical order)

Audi A6 4WD

Audi Q7 4WD

BMW 535is/is 2WD

BMW 535xi 4WD

Jeep Cherokee 4WD

Lexus CT 200h

Lexus RX 350 2WD

Mazda CX-9 2WD

Mercedes-Benz M-Class 4WD

Toyota Tacoma Double Cab long bed 4WD

Volkswagen Tiguan 2WD

Conversely, here is a list of the vehicles that had the highest fatality rate during the same time period:

Highest Rates of Driver Fatalities (highest at top)

Hyundai Accent

Kia Rio

Scion tC

Chevrolet Spark

Nissan Versa

Ford Fiesta

Kia Soul

Dodge Challenger

Nissan Titan Crew Cab short bet 4WD

Nissan Sentra

It only takes a quick glance to note 8 of the 11 safest vehicles are mid-size to large luxury cars or SUV’s/trucks. And 8 of the 10 deadliest are small or mini cars. In fact, the IIHS Report goes on to state that 4-door minicars have the highest overall death rate of 87 fatalities per million registered vehicles. SUV’s with 4WD have the lowest with only 6. When it comes to safety on the road, size really does matter.

So if you’re in the market for a new car and safety is important to you, it would be wise to go big this summer.